Mechanical toy and method of making same



Sept. 6, 1927.

v 1,641,653 c. ZABEL I MECHANICAL TOY AND METHOD 0F MAKING SAME FiledSept. 27, 1923 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 6, 1927.

nsirsn s tar es CHARLES ZABEL, 01'" CORAOPOLIS, FENNSYLVAHIA, ASSIGNOR,BY MESNE ASSIGDT- MENTS, TO MCDOWELL MANUFACTURING CC'IVIPANY, OFVAN'IA, A CQRPOBATION F IPENNSYLVANIA.

MILLVALE, PENNSYL:

MECHANICAL TOY AND METHOD or MAKING SAME.

Application filed September 27, 1923. Serial No. 665,115.

This invention is for an improved wheeled toy and a method of making thesame.

The invention relates particularly to a wheeled toy adapted to be usedin connection with some mechanical toy having some kind of a track whichis'tilted, so that the wheeled toy or car will gravitate along thetrack. Such a toy is shown, for instance,

in my Patent No. 1,469,710, dated October 2, 1923. I do not confinemyself, however, to t-he use of the present invention with theparticular toy shown in said application.

Toys of this nature must be made as cheaply as possible, in order to besold atthe low price demanded for them. (lensequently, they must be soconstructed that they may be rapidly assembled in large quantities, eacharticle being capable of operating successfully when assembled. Awheeled toy for this purpose is, furthermore, more attractive if it isprovided with moving figures.

A great diiiiculty encountered where moving figures are used is that,heretofore it I has been the practice to use rivets to provide pivotsfor moving parts. are used, great care must be taken in assembling thetoy; otherwise there is so much friction between the parts as to causethe toy, which is very light, not to operate free enough to let the toygravitate at the necessary speed required to keep pace with the tiltingmotion of the tracks. If such care must be taken in making the cars,the. cars cannot be produced fast enough and cheap enough to make thetoy very practical, commercially.

The present invention has for its principal object to provide a. noveltOy' or car having moving figures therein operated by the motion of thecar, and which may be cheaply made, the parts preferably being soassembled that the use of rivets in the mov-. ing parts is eliminated.

A further object of the inventionis to provide a novel method of makingthe cars.

The invention may be readily understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the car, the view being the actual size ofthe toy;

lvhen rivets Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectionalong the center of the carshown in Fig. l, but on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the arms for the figures as originally formed;

Fig. 4 is a top view of the arms when.

finished and Fig. 5 is a side view of one of the figures illustratingthe manner of attaching the arms and legs to the body.

In the drawings, 5 designates a platform pressed from sheet metal,havingdownwardly turned integral axle receiving In s 6 there on. These lugscarry the two axl es 7 and 8, on which arefixed wheels 9. Axle 7 isformed with a central crank 10, shown in Fig. 2, for the purposehereinafter described.

'Formed inthe platform alongthe longitudinal center thereof over eachaxle, is a slot 11 and 12, respectively. Carried on the platform, withthe lowerextremities thereof engaging in the respective slots, areminiature figures 13 and 14 having leg members 7 15 and arm members 16.

The arm members for each figure are formed ofa piece of sheet metal, ofthe shape shown in Fig. 3, having two arm portions 16 connected by anarrow strip 16".

The strip shown in Fig. 3 is bent to the shape shown in Fig. 4.

Each of the bodies 18 and 14: has a rectangular hole 17 punched in theshoulder portion thereof. The metal from the near-est outside edge ofthe body to the hole is cut, as

indicated at 18. After the arms have been bent, as shown in Fig. 4, themetal at one side of cut 18 is bent to one side, as indicated at 19 inFig. 5. The connecting strip of the arms may then be inserted throughthe out into hole 17 andthe bent part 19 returned to its normalposition, as in Fig. 1.

The arms are thus attached to the body in i base of the body, the metalbeing cut at 23 to enable the connecting portion to be insorted.

The legs are provided With lugs 2t which bend under the platform. Thefigures are 1thus supported in sitting position by the eggs.

In the outer ends of the arms are holes 25 through which cross bar 26 ofpost 27 ex tends. The cross bar thus connects the arms of the twofigures, so that the two figures may rock in unison. Post 27 has a lug28 on its lower end, as shown in Fig. 2, which passes through theplatform and is turned over. This slot in the platform is sufficientlyloose to enable the post to rock back and forth in a longitudinal plane.

The bodies of one of the figures 13 .isextended down through theplatform and has a bifurcated end which straddles the crank 10 V onaxle-s 7. Thus, when the toymoves, axles 7 are rotated, rocking figure18, movably supported on its legs, back and forth, and this motion istransmitted to post 27 and to the other figure 14:. p i

It will be apparent that from the manner of assembling the arms andlegs, plenty of freedom of movement exists bet-Ween the various parts.Such freedom cannot be consistently obtained where rivets are used, asthe rivets cannot be readily set in a press in such a way as not tocause considerable friction between the parts. As thetoys are operatedby gravity and weight but very little, weighing in the average toy aboutan ounce, it is essential that the parts be as free as possible.

When the car is in motion, it gives the appearance of two men operatinga hand car, of which post 27 is the operating handle.

I claim as my invention:

A toy comprising a platform, a pair of figures carried on the platform,said figures each having a body portion and a pair of platform withwheels thereon, one of the axles having an eccentric, and a bifurcatedextension on one of the figures passing through a slot in the platformand having its bifurcated end astra'ddle the said eccentric of one ofthe axles, and means connecting the arms of the two members wherebytheymay rock in unison.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES ZABEL.

